motel de moka

“Dub is a way of life…when you embrace dub, you are a righteous human. DUBBING IS A MUST.”
Mez Urik (from the book: All Life Is Dub)

Rory Breaker - Southern Gravel Rhodes
(2003)
LudacrisSpeed - Awkward Beat
(2008)
Quimby’s Chimney Rock Gig - The 42nd St. Session
(2002)
LabAssistant4 - vAliumM
(2002)
DaCrazedCamaro - In the Presence of a Stoned Dub
(2005)
Bex ft. Click OK - Soft Clip
(2003)
SpitzNagel - Dub Me on You
(2008)

Side notes: Unsure of where to take the next playlist, I perused a bit and stumbled across Dub and Illbient. This playlist takes me back to electronica: but with a twist, some jazz thrown into the mix, and a touch of uptempo in the midst. A welcome reflection to the coming of Spring, and for me a transitional awakening to the sound of the season. Like March, some of the tracks are in like lions and out like lambs, thus begin a bit strong but evenly mellow out to balance. For what it’s worth, enjoi.

All of the tracks are from independent artists/producers courtesy of acidplanet.com (yes, i’m a fiend for the unknowns on that site)

photo credit: Kshaka

I took the train from Patiala,
left the girls with Ayah, and lied,
I’m with Faye and Daisy.
Had to say what he’d approve of.
Go then, Kiran said, crushing large rupees in my hand.

Have I been here a week?
I’ve slept so long I can’t remember
who was with me last night in bed,
that figure leaning against the door?
Did he leave me this gold bangle?
I can feel its heft around my wrist,
knobs and crests, a design
from the high Mogul period of Aurangazeb.
- Reetika Vazirani , The Lover

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” Three Lists for The Lover. No.2 ”

01. Robert Schumann - Piano Sonata No.2 in G minor, Op.22: 2 Anantino
Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Martha Argerich (1999)
02. Autechre - Notwo
Quaristice (Warp records, 2008)
03. Burial - Unite
Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub (Soul Jazz, 2007)
04. Rovo - Vida
Sai (2001)
05. The Flashbulb - Eyes Of June
Binedump EP (Bohnerwachs Tontraeger, 2005)
06. Gang Gang Dance - Nomad For Love (Cannibal)
God’s Money (The Social Registry, 2005)
07. Mazzy Star - Ghost Highway
She Hangs Brightly (1991)
08. Baden Powell - A lenda do Abaeté
27 Horas de Estúdio (1969)

note: Not a silly list. This one is made solely to answer really big question: Can I collect recent pieces to invoke majestic night sound? So the selection deliberately taken from various genres I am paying attention to without trying hard to narrow down the number of styles. Of course taking the usual MdM fav. theme night downtempo as a texture frame. The idea for this theme has sit for awhile after Dial M’s post asking, what is ‘post-rock’. As an effort to explore, I pick the “anything not rock” path. Beyond that, it’s very much free association. Anything my head demand a sound to exist in certain place. My favorite spots in the list transition into Burial’s Unite and Baden Powell’s solo. Those are the things that made me listen to music, entrance as sweet as lover’s whisper.

see also: La Maja De Goya
image: quiiver

Photo credit: ichie

For years scientists have thought that whales only sleep with one side of the brain at a time. This was thought to be necessary in order for the whale – being unlike us a conscious breathing mammal – to be able to come up for air and stay on the lookout for any possible dangers. The idea behind this was that they never reach unconsciousness like we do while sleeping, but instead only shut down one half of the brain while the other half is still active. The two sides alternate until both are rested.

Recently however, a pod of six whales were spotted by Scottish scientists along the coast of northern Chile, floating motionlessly just below the surface, clearly with both eyes closed, displaying REM and being non-responsive to their presence. According to the scientists this might prove that whales do in fact experience sleep like other mammals do, with both sides of the brain. And quite possibly even being capable of dreaming. This is a wonderful find and only shows how much we still have to learn about cetaceans. It’s one of those questions probably every one of us has pondered over as a child. How do whales sleep without drowning? And we still don’t know for sure.

This certainly asks for a dedicated playlist. Arthur Russell’s Lets Go Swimming - produced by Phil Niblock - is a perfect way to start off the list. With his cello drenched in reverb it easily recalls the deeply resonating sounds of moaning whales. This continues throughout Belong’s liquid and mysteriously romantic I’m Too Sleepy…Shall We Swim? until we reach the wonderful lullaby performed by Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker (from the band Low). They recorded this song to celebrate the birth of their first child. Maybe it’s the same song that the mother whale in the picture above uses to sweetly sing her infant to sleep? After that the playlist sets off into a combination of vocal and non-vocal lullabies. Ultimately this playlist is meant for winding down. Ballads for heavy eyelids.

1. Arthur Russell - Let’s Go Swimming
   World Of Echo (Upside, 1986)
2. Belong - I’m Too Sleepy…Shall We Swim?
   October Language (Carparck, 2006)
3. Alan Sparhawk - Sleep Song
   Alan Sparhawk/Charles Atlas split 7″ (Star Star Stereo, 2000)
4. Susumu Yokota - Sleepy Eyes
   Grinning Cat (Leaf, 2001)
5. Sculptress - Yume
   This Phrase Appeals to You (Foxglove, 2005)
6. Morton Feldman - Rothko Chapel 4
   Rothko Chapel; Why Patterns? (New Albion, 1992)
7. Andrey Dergatchev - Underwater
   The Return OST (ECM, 2005)
8. Sylvain Chauveau - Lapproache du Nuage
   Nuage (Type, 2007)
9. Agitated Radio Pilot - World Winding Down
   World Winding Down (DeadSlackString, 2007)

Stream playlist

Additional playlists:
You also might want to check out the following posts for similar music and themes:
In Search of the Miraculous (for more Arthur Russell information)
As Long As I Can Hold My Breath - pt.1, pt.2 & pt.3
Sleep Cycle pt.1: Late Night Lullabies
Sleep Cycle pt.2: Asleep Eternally
Sleep Cycle pt.3: Awaken
Return to Sea: As the Waves Will Always Roll

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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt -

As March 10th arrives so has the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 2008. In light of the momentous occasion, I have decided to compile a brief but eclectic mix of tracks by one of the honorees. That artist would be the one and only Madonna. Though it is hard to see at times, Madge has actually released music in the midst of her dual life/career as a pop figure and performance artist. Whether or not the music was actually as groundbreaking, noteworthy, or as seemingly original as her persona stands to be debated. As it is, she has managed to touch on a number of genres within her pop umbrella. To many, Madonna is a modern sun in the pop scene: she is undeniable in her force and has shed light on many under her solar grasp, she has been seen and said to have both cultivated and destroyed the arenas which she touches upon (music, both as an art and a product, to name one example). Yet despite her inevitable dwindling and end she has remained a signpost of the culture and genre to date. Her relevance has been widely debated, but as was once stated in regards to her jumping of the shark, if people are years later still talking about your arguable irrelevance, rest assured you are still relevant. Regardless of that fact, Madonna will be honored in the Hall. Just as the sun has its many rays, Madge’s career saw a rebirth with her ode to those very solar emanations with her 1998 album, Ray of Light. That album veered Madonna away from her Material Girl image and towards a more Ephemeral Girl status, for the time being. So below are a few tracks from the self-appointed “Madgesty”, and some more original and varied takes on her collection. For what it’s worth, fan or not, hopefully something below will intrigue or entice, enjoi.

MiNdViRuZ - Ray of Light (Herbal Dope Mix)
(acidplanet.com/ 2002)
The Uninspired - Ray of Light (Ambient Worship Mix)
(ACIDPlanet/ 2003)
Madonna ft. Orbital - Bedtime Story (Orbital Mix)
(Bedtime Story US Maxi Single/ 1995)
Madonna ft. @ - Deeper and Darker (Deeper and Deeper Cover)
(ACIDPlanet/ unknown)
Madonna - Justify My Love (The Beast Within Mix)
(Justify My Love [SINGLE]/ 1990)
Madonna - Secret Garden
(Erotica/ 1992)

photo credit: popartdks

Image credit: unknown

This is the third and final part of a series that pays tribute to the supernatural ambience of the ocean’s deep. Not so much the sea itself but the mystery and solitude that lies beneath its seemingly endless surface is what brought inspiration for this series. Whereas the previous part evoked the solitude of a dark endeavour to the depths of the ocean, this list is more hopeful and during the final part even strangely romantic.

The central piece here is the overwhelming performance by Lubomyr Melnyk of his so-called Continuous Music on piano. A tidal wave of notes comes crashing down on the listener. An endlessly swirling composition that constantly changes only in the tiniest details. Comparisons could be made with Charlemagne Palestine’s Strumming Music (read and listen here), but Melnyk is more of a romanticist and his work feels less abstract.

And finally, the oddly romantic piece for guitar and theremin by Pamelia Kurstin and the heartbreaking violin melody on Tom Waits’ Fawn mark the end of our sub-aquatic voyage.

1. Francois Couturier - Nostalghia
   Nostalghia: Song For Tarkovsky (ECM, 2006)
2. Slow Six - Distant Light, Part 1: ‘Chromatic Clouds Surround’
   Nor’easter (New Albion, 2007)
3. Lubomyr Melnyk - Part 5
   KMH (Unseen Worlds, 1978/2007)
4. The Balustrade Ensemble - The Drowning Calm
   Capsules (Dynamophone, 2007)
5. Ketil Bjornstad - Floating
   Floating (EmArcy, 2005)
6. Pamelia Kurstin - Copingheaven
   Thinking Out Loud (Tzadik, 2007)
7. Tom Waits - Fawn
   Alice (Anti, 2002)

Stream playlist

Often you’ll feel two things at once powerfully at odds as when one wants to spend all day in bed yet also jump up and buy a mop! How good it feels to make toast!

Oh, you’re young again, the film is running backwards. Look, water leaps out of the tub, blood crawls back into the cut, the secret’s licked out of the ear which accounts, in part, for the struggle.

Often in your search you’ll find you’re hiding something.

A warning hangs over the glistening compartments and the woman cries out like a harp because either the harp that’s inside her is being plucked or the harp that’s outside her is being dropped.

Please try to be careful. In these moments, scissors are particularly poignant.

- Dean Young.

The Elected - Greetings in Braille
(Me first / 2004)
Miracle Fortress - Next Train
(Five Roses / 2007)
Ola Podrida - Instead
(Ola Podrida / 2007)
The National - Green Gloves
(Boxer / 2007)
Julie Doiron - Faites de beaux rêves
(Désormais / 2004)
Orillia Opry - I Lied
(Lighthouse for Stagglers’ eyes / 2007)
Thao - Beat (Health, Life & Fire)
(We Brave Bee stings and All / 2008)

Made this playlist on Sunday morning with a cup of green tea in my hand and a slight migraine caused by lack of sleep and way too much tequila shots the night before. While normally I avoid listening to any type of music in this state, I found that listening to soft songs with ambiguous lyrics makes for a perfect excuse to spend a few more minutes in bed while trying to remember all those little things you lost and gained the night before.

Previous hangover: The unknown bird.

Image credit: unknown

The serene, almost spiritual atmosphere of the previous part of this series is traded with a darker and more desolate sound in this second part. Over the course of the first three tracks the music gradually builds down its tone, as if it was gracefully descending into the depths of the ocean, the darkness absorbing the last remaining rays of light and colour being transformed into pitch-blackness. It makes for a careful yet necessary initiation of what comes next.

At the heart of this list lies the wonderful and mysterious composition Sevan by Michael Fahres. Recorded on the shores of Lake Sevan in Armenia, it evokes a desolated and mystifying ambience. This hugely compelling soundscape was created by recording Armenian singer Parik Nazarian from inside huge abandoned metal pipes around Lake Sevan. Micheal Fahres then turns these recordings into an exploration of resonance and echoes. Somehow making it sound like the perfect Deathprod adaptation of This Mortal Coil’s masterpiece Song to the Siren – a song which appropriately enough was featured in an earlier sea-oriented playlist.

The fragile piano notes of John Cage finally relieve us from the crushing weight of the ocean, its simplicity carefully bringing back some light into the list. And finally the list ends with nine minutes of pure bliss. Wooden Spoon’s elegant guitar playing seemingly radiating a golden glow, sounding like it was recorded underwater.

1. Evan Bartholomew - Birth: Being
   Borderlands (New Land Music, 2007)
2. Giuseppe Ielasi - 03
   August (12k, 2007)
3. Deathprod - Dora 3
   Reference Frequencies (Rune Grammofon, 2004)
4. Michael Fahres - Sevan
   The Tubes (Cold Blue, 2007)
5. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Tu Non Mi Perderai Mai
   Touch 25 (Touch, 2006)
6. John Cage - In a Landscape
   In a Landscape (RCA, 1995)
7. Wooden Spoon - 6
   Wooden Spoon (Foxglove, 2005)

Stream playlist